The second life of Bella Swan
by Annalisa No Name
Summary: Bella Swan was changed when she first arrived in Seattle. When confronted with the truth of her creation, she makes a choice that will change her existence in more way than she ever realized. Completely AU. Inspired by The short 2nd life of Bree Tanner.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own none of the Characters or Plotlines to Twilight. I just play around with it.

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><p><strong>Chapter one<strong>

**Bella's pov**

"Diego," I hissed once Bree had left his side.

He whirled around and crouched into a defensive stance, but once he registered who I was he tentatively straightened. "Bella?"

"Shhhh, don't get too loud, I don't want Riley to discover us. Come with me."

"I can't. I have to talk to Riley."

I sighed, knowing that Diego could be as tenacious I was, but this was a matter of his survival so if I had to I would force him with whatever means I had. "If you tell him what you know you will end up in a pile of ashes and what would you have Bree do then?"

"What? How do you even know about Bree?"

"I'll tell you everything if you'll just come with me."

He glanced back at where he knew Riley would be emerging, apparently still hesitating. I touched his arm and gave him a pleading look. "If you don't believe what I have to tell you, you can tell Riley about the sun later today."

He nodded reluctantly and I told him where to go and to wait for me there. I needed to make sure that Riley found neither of their scents.

As I worked, I thought about the moment I discovered this wonderful little side effect of my gift.

_A few of the new kids still weren't back at the house, so I took off in search of them, fearing for their safety once the sun would rise, which I knew wouldn't be long now. I picked up their scents pretty easily and followed them out to the better part of town._

_I wondered what on earth they were doing here as I kept tracking them. I wasn't until I smelled _her_ that I knew this was the wrong place to be. I froze when I heard one of them cry out in pain and _her_ sinister laughter that followed that cry._

_I inched closer to the building where I could feel their presence, but stopped when I heard Riley's command for the others to watch. I couldn't believe that Riley would be there when she tortured them like this, but the proof was right in front of me, I just couldn't see it yet._

_In my focus on what was happening in the overpriced apartment building in front of me, I lost sight of where I was going and I knocked over a trashcan in the alleyway. The sound was loud and I knew they had heard my stumbling approach. It appeared that my clumsiness from my human days wasn't completely over yet._

_I was terrified of being found spying on them, so I scrambled away while fervently praying that my scent would somehow not be discovered. I watched from a roof top down the street as Riley charged out into the street and sniffed the air. _

_When I unfocused my eyes I could see how much his aura had shifted towards the dark side and I finally knew what I had feared to be true. Riley was slowly but surely turning into the same kind of evil being as _she_ was._

_His frustrated growl reached my ears then and I refocused my eyes on his actual body, seeing to my amazement that he was now sniffing the garbage can. From the tension in his body I knew he had an idea that it was one of us that had been out there, but he couldn't find the scent that would determine which one of us it was._

_Thinking it best to leave, I returned to the house and pretended nothing had happened. In the nights that followed I experimented with what I had learned and once I found the surefire way to hide myself I planned to leave this group._

_Diego had just been turned when I left, but I had seen his aura and knew he was a good kid, that was why I watched over him, making sure he lived longer than most of the others._

I shook myself from my thoughts, because I could sense Riley approaching. I backtracked the way I came, taking Diego's scent trail with me as I left.

I reached the abandoned shack only minutes later and Diego was there, as he had promised. He was agitated, though, so I wisely kept my distance.

"Diego, please trust me."

"I can't. Not until you tell me what is going on."

"You won't like it, but I don't have a choice now. I vowed to keep you safe once I left and I have, so I will not let you walk into a deathtrap without even knowing it."

"Death trap?" He looked weary and I couldn't say I blamed him. Had I been in his shoes, I would have felt the same way.

"Yes, Riley will not allow you to live once you've told him you know about the sun's influence on us. There have been others that tried before you. The ones he claimed got burned by the sun."

"Why didn't you save them?"

"I couldn't get to them fast enough and I'm not strong enough to stop Riley and _her_ at the same time."

"How can I trust you? We all thought you were dead."

"That was my way of protecting myself."

"Fair enough. But why do you try to save me when you didn't save the others?"

I sighed. This was the tricky part. I knew Diego was a good guy, but I also knew that he was impressed with Riley and that he wanted to believe Riley was as good as he was.

"I can see people's aura's and yours is better than any I've seen among the newborns." I smiled. "Well, aside from Bree. She's sweet."

Diego's eyes softened when I mentioned her and I didn't need to unfocus my eyes to know that his aura was gaining red. He was falling in love with this young girl and I smiled in spite of the pressing situation.

"She is. Before we got caught out in the sunlight together I only caught sight of her a few times when she was out of Fred's reach. But she drew my attention from the first moment I saw her."

"You love her," I whispered.

His eyes snapped up and he shook his head. "No. No, she's sweet and beautiful, but I don't love her."

"You do, but it'll take you a while to see the truth in that. Most important thing right now is that you keep her safe. We cannot let her go into this war with the rest of the army. We need to devise a plan that can keep her safe."

"I'll do whatever I need to, to keep her safe."

"Good."

The attack on the enemy clan, or what _she _claimed to be the enemy clan, was started unexpectedly and it had me and Diego running two steps behind the entire time. I was terrified that something would happen to Bree, while I promised Diego we could save her.

Summoning all the strength I had, I pushed my shield away from me to find Bree's light aura. It wasn't until we heard the fighting and unnatural growls that I finally found her and managed to cover her from head to toe in my shield. It was the first time I cast it out this wide and I was glad for it, because from all the screaming I knew the army was losing this battle fast and in an awful way.

"I've protected her, but we need to get her out of there. There is a sense of urgency in the air that is making me very uncomfortable."

Diego nodded and quietly ran beside me until he reached the edge of the battlefield. I could see Bree's small frame as she was cornered by two vampires I didn't know. I felt their goodness radiating off them, but from the stories I heard as I kept watch over Riley's group and his meetings with _her_, that there was a bigger threat out there waiting for us all.

"Don't do anything to push them into reacting," I told Diego. "They seem peaceful, so let's approach them as civilized as possible."

"They've got her cornered," he hissed, his eyes blazing fire.

"Just watch. They aren't hurting her. They're just talking."

Diego clenched his fists at his side, but nodded and walked beside me to where Bree was quivering and the two golden eyed vampires were softly talking to her.

Their eyes snapped up once we got close enough and Bree whirled around so fast I was afraid she might stumble, but she didn't.

"Diego!" she cried as she flew at him and tackled him to the ground, immediately kissing him as if the world around them wasn't threatening to go up in flames.

I chuckled, but turned my attention to the bemused looking vampires with their gold eyes. "Please, let them make their getaway. They didn't harm anyone and they're good kids," I whispered. "You can kill me, but please don't hurt them."

They both seemed surprised, but then a third vampire appeared next to them growling menacingly. "I can't read them. We can't let them get away and allow Alice to be in danger any longer."

I winced at the venom lacing his words. In his eyes we were a threat to his coven and I knew I would have to tread very carefully if I didn't want to be added to the pile of burning remains in the center of the field. I carefully peeled back my shield from Diego and Bree.

"I was protecting them. Can you read them now?" I asked, instinctively knowing this was the mind reader everyone had been warned about.

He focused his eyes on the young couple behind me, who were back in the real world for the moment and growling softly under the other vampire's scrutiny.

He nodded slowly. "They just want to leave. They didn't even know about Alice or what happened to Victoria's mate."

"Then go," the blond male spoke softly.

"But..." Bree started.

"Go, now!" the man said more urgently. "There are others coming. Others that will not show mercy for any that are not part of my coven. If you go now you will be able to escape their notice if you're lucky. Just remember to lay low."

I could see that he wanted to say more, but was holding back. I turned to Diego and gave him a small nod, ensuring him that I would get rid of their trail.

He didn't give it a second thought, instead he threw Bree over his shoulder and took off at full speed. I closed my eyes, picked up their trails and carefully removed the one that showed their retreat into the woods. With great effort I managed to create a fake trail with the bits of scent that were lingering near the edge of the trees to make it look like they too had been destroyed by the others.

"What are you doing?" the red haired vampire growled behind me.

"Protecting them," I said before I turned back to him.

The blond man put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him a step away from me. "Calm down, son. She doesn't appear to be a threat."

"Carlisle, I cannot read her thoughts. We don't know if she dangerous or not, but I think we shouldn't take the chance and risk Alice like that."

A beautiful strawberry blond came up then and grabbed the mind-readers hand. "Edward, darling. Alice said they're coming. We have to represent a united front."

I looked away when she lustfully claimed his lips, before pulling him further into the clearing where others were waiting. The other couple gave each other a look that I could interpret only as two adults feeling wary of their son's girlfriend, or in this case mate.

They both grabbed my arm and while apologizing, took me into the clearing where the rest of the coven was waiting. I could smell something underneath the heavy smell of burning newborns behind me and I couldn't quite place it, but it made me shudder involuntarily. The smallest of the females gave me a sympathetic smile and then turned her eyes on the edge of the forest farthest away from us.

The air was thick with tension and all of a sudden I remembered when I had felt this strong urge of self preservation before. It was when the Volturi guard had come to visit _her,_ Victoria, I mentally corrected, now knowing her name for the first time.

I had hardly made the decision to protect myself, when Edward's head snapped up and his eyes sought mine. For some reason I knew he could hear me so I sent him the images of the night the Volturi came and then apologized before casting my shield out to cover my scent and down to make myself invisible.

I could register the surprise in Edward's eyes when I disappeared from sight, but he kept staring straight at me as if he was still staring into my eyes. Something fluttered in my stomach, making me glad I could no longer blush. His eyes finally left me and searched for the cloaked figures I knew were coming.

Even though I knew that I had to stay as still as possible in order to keep from betraying my presence, I couldn't help the tremor that went through me when they finally were visible through the thick purple smoke. The small girl's eyes flashed to mine for just a second, giving me a silent warning to stay perfectly quiet.

The small figure up front signaled for them to stop several feet in front of the coven that were waiting for them. I watched as they pulled their hoods back, my eyes nearly popping out to see that their leader could have been no older than Bree when she was changed. Her face was cold and aloof but I could see her aura rippling with barely contained fury.

Carlisle stepped forward and inclined his head in greeting. "Jane. As you can see your services are no longer needed."

"I have to say I am surprised a coven managed to survive an attack of this magnitude with all members intact," she said in that cold, slightly petulant tone that I heard before.

Carlisle nodded. "We got lucky."

She sniffed. "I doubt this," she said gesturing to the giant pile of burning limbs, "has anything to do with luck."

Edward stepped forward, opening his mouth to speak, but the small black haired girl stopped him with a small touch to his arm. He reluctantly stepped back into the arms of his mate and kept watching the entire scene with clenched teeth.

"Did you find out who created this army?"

The other blond male of the group stepped forward and nodded towards Jane. "Her name was Victoria. She sought to destroy my mate because I destroyed hers."

Jane quirked a brow as her eyes flitted to the small dark haired girl and back. "What did you do to this Victoria?"

"We destroyed her and her second in command," the blond said, jerking his head towards the mountain.

I couldn't look away, but I knew instinctively that there was a second fire burning somewhere up there. From the corner of my eye I noticed one of the other guards looking in my direction. Carefully I lifted my mental shield.

_Edward, does he know I'm here? _I asked him in my mind.

The moment I let him hear that thought, his head jerked up in my direction and then back to the guard that had appeared to notice me. His eyes looked pained when he realized he had just given me up.

I focused harder on keeping myself invisible and moved closer to Edward who was almost vibrating with his tight control over his instincts to fight to protect his clan. I felt the attention of the guards shift to the spot where I had just been standing.

Incredibly slowly I moved closer and closer to the ones I knew I could trust, hoping and praying that my shield would hold long enough to get out of this alive.

"Did you miss one?" Jane asked Carlisle.

"No. They were all killed."

She smiled menacingly as she turned towards Carlisle's mate. An earsplitting shriek ripped through the air and I nearly lost grip on my shield as she fell to the ground in obvious horrible agony. While everyone was distracted with Carlisle's mate for the moment, the largest of the guards lunged towards the spot where I had previously been standing.

I focused harder on my shield and breathed a sigh of relief when Jane allowed Carlisle's mate to stand back up.

"I will ask just once more," Jane said quietly. "Did you miss one?"

"No!" Carlisle snarled, enraged now. "And I will be sure to file a formal complaint with Aro as soon as I can. This is no way to treat a coven that is merely protecting one of it's members."

Jane sniffed and then turned to look at the giant that was clearly confused, having only encountered thin air where he had expected to find me.

"Well?" she asked impatiently.

"I was mistaken. I thought I caught a trace of a vampire, but it's completely gone now," he grumbled.

She hissed as she turned back to the coven before her. "You'll get the benefit of the doubt this time, but if we ever find out you've deceived us, we will make sure you will be taken to court."

Without another word they whirled around and moved away from the field as one.

The small dark haired vampire held out her hand in a cautioning gesture. "Do not move a muscle. They will send Demetri back in about half an hour to check if he was right that there was someone left. For your own safety and ours, please stay hidden until I come back for you."

I realized only then that she was talking to me. I was too scared to let Edward know my answer mentally, but as I debated it, she spoke again. "I know you will try and I hope you'll last. We'll have to go home to avoid suspicion, so it's up to you. I'll be back when it's safe."

I swallowed thickly at the idea of being left here to my own devices, next to a burning pire of my former coven members. What was I supposed to do when my concentration slipped?

I watched helplessly as the four couples left the field without looking back and once they were out of sight I tried to clear my mind and just keep a hold of my shield.

Ever since I was turned I felt like time had started racing by me. Days just slipped by without me noticing, but now it seemed to have slowed down to a nearly complete stop. I mentally calculated the chances I had to climb a tree while keeping my shield in place. It wasn't a good chance, but I'd take whatever I could at that moment.

Moving only inches at a time, I managed to reach the trunk of the nearest spruce. I knew I couldn't jump and keep the shield in place and neither could I afford to lose my shield for only a moment, because for all I knew I was already being watched.

So instead, I just leaned against the tree and held tight to my shield.

As Alice had predicted, the large dark haired Volturi guard entered the clearing after a while. He stood on the edge of the field with his eyes closed, his face lifted into the wind to try and catch a scent. He growled loud enough for me to hear, but I managed to keep my fear at bay for the moment.

He ran around the clearing, grabbing at air every now and then, but never did he come close enough in my direction to indicate that he knew I was still there. After having run through the field for the umpteenth time, he growled loud enough to be heard up to a mile away.

After only a few moment the rest of the guards showed up. Jane was glaring at the guard that had come to check if I was still there and for a moment I felt sorry for him. Thankfully she didn't use her power on him, sparing me another look at that horrible talent of hers.

After they left, I stood frozen in place for an unbearable amount of time.

If I had been human I would have suffered from hypothermia or some other ailment that would have been sure to have killed me.

Then, when I had almost given up I heard Alice's bell like voice.

"Edward, will you stop hovering! You've seen my visions, she's no threat to us."

"You don't know that, Alice. We both know that your visions are subjective."

I released my shield and both of them hissed at me at my sudden appearance.

I stepped back, bumping into the tree behind me and then tripping over my own two feet, landing hard on my ass.

I quickly covered my face, too embarrassed to look at either of them. God, how stupid could I be? I hadn't been clumsy in a while, but somehow all that bottled up, innate lack of equilibrium just popped right up to humiliate me.

I hated my life.

"Bella?" Alice asked, amusement clear in her voice.

"Don't laugh," I muttered petulantly.

This, of course, triggered Alice's carefully contained laughter. I attempted to hide in my arms even further, but it only managed to cover so much of me.

It was a tentative touch to my hand that made me look up to find Alice smiling down at me, her hand out as if to help me up. Grimacing a little I took the proffered assistance and stood.

"Don't be embarrassed," Alice said. "I really wasn't laughing at you."

I shrugged one shoulder. "It's okay. I was hoping I had gotten rid of that clumsiness by now, but it apparently just waited before it came back with a vengeance."

"Aw, hun. You'll grow out of it. You have all the time in the world to."

"Thanks, I guess."

A harrumph from Edward drew both our attention. "Are you ready to leave yet? They could come back you know."

Alice rolled her eyes at him. "They're already on the way to the airport and they'll be in a plane to Italy within the next hour or so. I told you this. You've seen it for yourself."

"Let's go already. This place is giving me the creeps."

I chuckled under my breath, but quickly shut up when I caught Edward's outraged glare. "Sorry," I muttered.

"You're lucky every one else trusts you, if it were up to me you'd have been on that fire with the rest of them," he hissed before stalking off into the woods.

I was left staring after him with the ridiculous urge to cry.

"Don't worry. He'll come around," Alice said. "You ready to meet the family?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." I muttered, not knowing if I had made a mistake by waiting for them to come get me. Perhaps I would have been better off running with Bree and Diego.

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><p><em>AN: So, here's my frist Twilight story. I hope you liked it so far and will let me know what you thought by using the review button below._

_My plan is to update bi-weekly so I have the opportunity to create chapter of quality and some good lenght._

_Thank for reading,_

_A.N.N._


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: All Twilight Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I just play around with different plot ideas.**_

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><p><strong>Chapter two<strong>

**Carlisle's pov**

The young vampire couldn't be more than seventeen, maybe eighteen when she was turned and she obviously was still a newborn. All of that wasn't really surprising to me, considering Victoria's reasons for creating this army, but what did surprise me was her careful control. When I had heard her talk to the newborn vampire who was obviously hell bent on protecting his mate, I had found myself extraordinarily skeptic. But somehow, she had managed to calm him long enough for her to convince us to let them go.

She had stood, facing us without fear, but also without threat. It was such a strange thing to me that I had instinctively wanted to goad her into a response. Over four hundred years of self-control kept that urge inside, though. Secretly I had been thankful for Edward's aggressive attitude, hoping that she would snap at him, giving me peace of mind, but she didn't. She remained calm and collected and exhibited extraordinary control over her shielding power.

She acted like she was centuries old, instead of newly created and I was worried about how it would affect my family to have her here.

According to Alice the girl was no threat to us and she wouldn't lose control, not even around humans, but Edward didn't trust those visions and neither did I or Jasper. We all suspected that she was hiding something. Perhaps another attempt on Alice's life. Perhaps a connection to the Volturi to garner more information about us.

Either way, the men in the house, with the exception of Emmett who was always willing to be positive, were on edge about bringing this new girl in.

Esme had scolded me for it, of course, but she too was worried how having another vampire in the house would do to upset the careful balance in which we now lived.

I sat up straighter when I heard Edward's annoyed stomping and Alice's happy chatter. The girl didn't say anything, but she fidgeted constantly. I could hear it in the small sounds that were coming from her and the habit threw me for a loop.

Vampires in general were always too still to be considered human, but it appeared that this girl had maintained her human habits.

Curious, I stood and walked down the stairs to greet the retrieval party.

Upon entering the room and being faced with seven curious, but careful vampires, she didn't exhibit defensive behavior. No, she stumbled.

Stumbled.

A vampire that fidgeted and stumbled.

In all my years I had never seen anything like it.

The complete silence and stillness from all of us seemed to make her uncomfortable, so she lowered her eyes to the ground and worried her lip with her teeth, her fingers nervously tapping a rhythm on her jean covered legs.

As I watched her, I was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of tenderness for this quiet girl. Jasper and Edward both looked at me with horror in their eyes, but I just shrugged. What could I say? The girl was adorable.

"Bella, welcome. We do apologize for the unconventional greeting. I hope you understand we are a bit wary after everything that happened."

She took a quick peek at me from under her lashes and grimaced. "I don't have to stay here. I can manage on my own. I can go find Diego and Bree and follow them around the world," she whispered in a soft voice.

I caught Esme's heartbroken expression and knew right away what I needed to do. "Bella, you are welcome to stay with us. As long as you abide by our rules."

At that her head snapped up and she gave me a defiant glare. "What rules?"

"We don't feed off humans and we always maintain our secret."

Her shoulders relaxed and her eyes softened. Shrugging one shoulder she said: "I don't feed off of humans to begin with, so that'll work and I wasn't planning on becoming a human lab rat, or something, so yeah. Secret's safe with me."

I'm sure I looked like a fool, gaping at her like that, but I couldn't get my head together enough to close my mouth and continue speaking.

Esme was the one that finally broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Bella, would you like to stay with us, or have we already made you feel too uncomfortable?" she asked, quietly, taking a small step towards her.

All the vampires in the room snarled and stood poised for attack as Bella suddenly moved to Esme, but instead of attacking my wife, she hugged her, trembling visibly. "Can you make them stop staring at me?" she murmured into my wife's shoulder.

Esme's eyes sought mine and I saw that she would be crying if she could. "Everyone," she said softly. "Give Bella some space. The family introductions can wait."

Emmett pulled Rosalie outside to hunt, Alice bounded up to Jasper and took him upstairs and Tanya attempted to get Edward out of the house, but he refused to budge.

"Edward," I urged.

"No. I am not leaving you guys with a newborn who I cannot read."

"Edward, the girl is trembling. Give her some space," Esme scolded.

"I don't trust her."

Bella pulled away from Esme and stalked right up to Edward. "I'm right here. You can talk to me, you know!"

"Fine! I don't trust you."

"Well, tough! I am not going to hurt anyone. Are you crazy? That big bear of a bother of yours makes me want to piss my pants, even though I know I can't. You really think I'd be stupid enough to try anything?"

"How should I know, I can't read your mind!"

"Well thank god, you can't because you wouldn't like what I'm thinking right now!"

"Show me, I know you can."

Bella's eyes flashed with fury and with a determined set to her mouth she took a step back and glared at Edward. He blinked once and then stumbled back.

"Enough!" he cried after a minute, clutching his head.

Bella looked away and ran out the door. Not knowing which one of them to go for, I stood frozen.

"Ooh, you stupid men," Esme hissed before bolting after Bella.

Tanya knelt beside Edward and tried to get him to speak, but he just clutched his head and tried to breathe deeply and evenly.

"Tanya, can you give us a minute?" I asked.

She looked defiant, but did what I asked, leaving me alone in the room with Edward.

"Edward, what did she show you?"

He swallowed thickly. "Her life before she was changed. She remembers all of it. With perfect clarity."

"What happened to her?"

"She ran away from her alcoholic mother and the woman's abusive boyfriend in the hope that she could live with her father who is supposed to live around here somewhere, but she was kidnapped when she got off the plane in Seattle. The man that took her was a sadist, dad. He put his cigarets out on her skin, he raped her over and over and beat her until she thought she was going to die."

I wished I had consumed human food, so I could have had something to throw up, because my stomach rolled at the things Edward described.

"Since she didn't know exactly who her father was she knew there was nobody that would try to save her. She was dead inside by the time that man grew tired of her. He left her to die in an abandoned warehouse. That's where Riley found her. He changed her himself. She was his first successful transformation."

"Did she show you what happened after that?" I asked, not sure that I really wanted to know.

"No. I told her to stop when she showed me that Riley had given her to his second in command to use as he saw fit. I don't even know if the guy did anything to her. I didn't want to know any more."

I nodded solemnly. "She's your new sister now, Edward."

"I know and I'll protect her from anyone who even looks at her wrong. I promise."

We were quiet for a while. "She's strong. So much stronger than any of us. Mentally I mean," Edward muttered after a while.

"I figured."

"What do we do about her father? Should we try to find him?"

"I need to think about that. We need to talk to Bella and see what she wants."

"They're heading this way. Bella told Esme everything. They're both pretty distraught."

I nodded and we both walked to the door to await them. Edward muttered something under his breath that even I didn't hear before he excused himself for a few seconds.

He flew up the stairs and told Tanya to stop nagging and that he needed to be there for his new baby sister. He was back before she even had a chance to complain, but by the scowl on his face I figured she was using his power against him.

I decided to ignore it and instead focus on the two women that were heading our way. Esme's eyes were clouded with worry and rage and pain and Bella looked positively broken.

"Bella?" Edward called quietly. "Will you allow me to take you somewhere so we can talk?"

She looked up at Esme with fearful eyes, but my wife encouraged her to go, probably guessing, as I was, where Edward planned to take her.

Bella drew in a shaky breath and then nodded. Edward approached her slowly, holding out his hand in an offer of apology. In that moment I couldn't have been prouder of my stubborn, strong willed son.

The two of them walked off at little more than human pace. Esme came to my side and together we watched them walk away.

As soon as she was sure they were out of earshot, Esme collapsed against me and shook with dry sobs.

"Oh, Carlisle, that poor girl!" she cried.

"I know. Edward told me."

I carried Esme inside and was surprised to find Rosalie there, waiting for us. "Do you think I should talk to her about it?" she asked, sounding oddly insecure.

"If she's open to it, I think the two of you can help each other."

She nodded her head and then narrowed her eyes. "Just a fair warning. If anyone messes with her, I will hurt them."

I chuckled and gave her a kiss on the top of her head. "Of course, Rose. Why don't we all try to take our minds off of it for a while? I don't want Bella to come back to a house of brooding vampires. We need to be ready to distract her from those horrible memories."

Rose agreed, albeit reluctantly and pulled Emmett upstairs with her. I had every intention of taking Esme, who was still sobbing into my chest, upstairs as well, when Tanya blocked our path.

"Yes, Tanya?"

"I don't like this. Tell Edward I went to visit my family in Alaska. If he wants me to come back, he knows where to find me."

"Tanya, don't you think that's a bit selfish of you?"

She merely shook her head, grabbed her suitcases and flew out the door, reminding me of a child throwing a temper tantrum. Rolling my eyes, I carried Esme up the stairs. I had more important things to worry about than Tanya.

When we were finally alone in the privacy of our room, I gently laid her down on our bed and carefully stripped her clothes, after which I stripped down to nothing myself. I picked her up and placed her under the blankets and crawled in after her.

I cradled her to my body, trying to have as much of our skin connected as possible.

This was the best way to show her that no matter what, we always had each other and the intense connection we shared between us. The low buzzing of the electricity that flowed between us whenever we touched was always stronger like this and it always helped her whenever she was feeling particularly down.

This wasn't about sex, it was about comfort.

**Edward's pov**

Bella's tiny hand trembled in my grip and I worried that I was pushing her too fast. I glanced sideways at her as we walked and carefully let go of her hand. Her eyes flew to mine, wide and fearful as she clutched my hand.

"Don't leave me alone right now," she whispered.

"I won't. I just don't want you to be uncomfortable."

"I'm not as long as I'm not alone."

I nodded and continued walking. I considered asking her if she wanted to run and she surprised me when she showed me her thoughts of her own accord, showing me that she wanted to run as badly as I did.

"Well, let's go then. Hold onto my hand, okay?"

She gave me a small smile, gripped my hand tighter and took off in a run. It's a good thing I'm the fastest in the family, otherwise I never would have been able to keep up with her. I told her which way to turn and in only a few moments we burst through the trees and into the meadow.

I pulled Bella to a stop to keep her from running right past it.

She jerked in surprise but when her eyes focused on her surroundings her lips curved up into a small smile.

"This is where you were taking me?"

I nodded, watching her carefully for her reaction.

"It's beautiful out here," she whispered.

"It is, but it's also remote and quiet. I go here whenever my gift becomes too much for me to handle."

"I can only imagine."

I released her hand and sank to the ground, watching as she carefully took in everything about the meadow.

"Do you want to talk about what you showed me?" I asked her when five minutes had passed without her saying a word.

Her big black eyes flashed to mine and she grimaced. "Not really. I showed you what happened and I told Esme. I want to forget it, if I'm honest, but I can't."

"I wish I could help you forget, but I think it's better if you deal with it, give yourself a chance to get over it."

She grimaced. "I know, believe me. But it's so hard when you have a crystal clear memory of it."

"You could try to talk to Rose about it."

"Your girlfriend?" she asked, her face guarded.

"No. The tall blonde. She has been through a lot before her change. It might help."

She shrugged. "We'll see. For now I just want to concentrate on other things."

We lapsed into silence for a while and I nearly groaned at the joy of being around someone without hearing their thoughts all the time. Even with Tanya I needed space every now and then, simply because it's hard to know your partner's every thought, especially in bed. But with Bella there was nothing but blessed silence.

"Edward? Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"What do you guys do every day?"

I chuckled for a moment. "We go to school."

"Is that allowed? With the secret that Carlisle wants us to keep?"

"Yes. We just have to make sure we behave in a way that doesn't draw attention."

"Could I go too?"

"Depending on how you do among humans, I'd say you can."

"I've been around humans a lot in Seattle, I never drained one."

"That's a plus. I do think Carlisle will want proof of that."

She nodded thoughtfully. "Carlisle knows a lot, right?"

"Right."

"Do you think he can help my find my dad? All I know is that he's from Washington state, but that's all. I only vaguely remember a man with dark hair and a mustache and dark brown eyes, like mine were."

"Your mother never told you who he was?"

"No."

"Do you know his last name?"

"I don't. I remember when I was younger that we used to get a lot of mail from a C. Swan. My mother always got rid of the letters as soon as she saw them. She was so weird about that it stuck with me. Even through the change.

"Do you know your full name?"

"It's been Isabella Marie Dwyer since I was little. I don't remember what it was before my mother married Phil.."

"That makes it a bit more difficult to figure out who your father is," I mused.

We lapsed into silence. I tried to assess how Bella was feeling. She looked reasonably relaxed, but without my ability to hear what she was thinking I discovered that I wasn't nearly as proficient at interpreting facial expressions and body language as I thought.

I was about to open my mouth to ask her what she was thinking when the wind shifted and I smelled the wolves. I heard Jacob Black giving out commands to the ones that were with him. It looked like they had smelled us before I had detected them.

"Bella, run home as fast as you can," I told her quietly.

"What? Why?"

"There's someone coming and I don't want them to get the wrong idea and try to harm you."

She looked like she was about to argue, but as she drew in a deep breath I could see her scrunch up her nose in distaste at the smell in the air. She gave me a quizzical look, but instead of arguing or asking questions she darted back the way we had come. I watched her retreating form until I couldn't see her any longer.

As I turned around Jacob just walked out of the trees, not even bothering to button his shirt. "Cullen, where is the other vampire?"

"She left, but there is no need for you to go after her. She's like us. She doesn't feed off of humans."

"And when were you going to tell us that you've expanded your little family?" he sneered.

His mind was on Tanya and if having a new girl with us would finally open the path for him to get her in his bed. I bit back a hiss. Tanya and I had been together for over twenty years and even though there was no love between us, we were a team and I was not going to step aside to let some vile _dog_ go after her. I refocused on the conversation and tried desperately to ignore his mental jabs.

"We have just met her today, a short while after the battle. We haven't gotten around to informing the tribe elders. I assure you she is no threat."

"Fine. Tell Carlisle to give an official announcement as soon as possible. If she steps out of line, we won't hesitate in ripping her limb from limb."

"I know, Jacob. I'll inform Carlisle as soon as I return home."

"Good. I'll get back to the reservation then. Seth is about to turn and I've been assigned as his babysitter."

I could tell how annoyed he was with that, but I didn't comment. It was time for me to return to the house so that I could talk to Carlisle about Bella's presence in our home and what it would mean for our stay in Forks.

I made sure that Jacob was well on his way back before I started my run home. As I approached the house Alice gave me a mental warning. Apparently Tanya had left in a tizzy and since I hadn't contacted her yet, she was royally pissed at me.

"What else is new?" I muttered to myself.

As I entered the house I found Alice and Rosalie talking with Bella. They were discussing how Bella had survived in Seattle so long on her own. I was surprised to learn that she had sneaked into the hospital to steal the blood supply that was on it's way to be destroyed because the expiry date had passed. It had never occurred to me that she may have used anything other than blood from a living thing.

"We should take you hunting," Alice said, trying to temper her excitement for Bella's benefit.

"Is that safe? I mean Edward sent me home for a reason, right Edward?" she asked the last part as she looked up at me.

"It's a long story, but you should be safe if you girls stay in the immediate vicinity of the house."

Alice grinned and jumped up, dragging Bella behind her while Rose followed with an exasperated expression.

That pixie is going to drive Bella up the walls. She thought in my direction.

I suppressed a snicker and then darted up the stairs in search of Carlisle. He was just exiting the bedroom her shared with Esme when I got to the end of the hallway.

"The wolves want you to tell them about Bella. I think they might want to discuss the treaty as well," I said as he ushered me into his office.

"I've already decided to request a meeting. I think it's best if we introduce Bella to the tribe so they know who she is and there is no mistaking her as part of the treaty."

"Sounds good to me. How mad is she?"

Carlisle pursed his lips. He tried to control his thoughts, but I heard his annoyance nonetheless. He felt that Tanya was behaving like a petulant child and he thought I should just let her stew until she was ready to come back on her own terms.

"You know I can't do that, dad," I whispered.

"Why not, Edward? You and Tanya aren't mates, you don't love each other. Why should you always cater to her every whim? I think it would be better if the two of you were to stay away from each other for a while."

I shook my head. I couldn't abandon Tanya like that. "Can you please inform the school that I am ill? I'm going up to Alaska tonight."

He obviously didn't agree, but it was my decision to make after all.

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><p><em>AN: A little sooner than promised. So, did you like the little insight into the other Cullens? Let me know what you're thinking._


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: All Twilight characters belong to Mrs. Meyer._

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><p><strong>Chapter three<strong>

**Bella's pov**

Hunting was...an experience, I decided when I sat down with Rosalie after we had both finished our hunt. Alice enjoyed the chase too much, so she was still flitting around the forest, appearing to play tag with her prey.

"She's a bit out there," Rosalie told me quietly. "I think it's the constant strain her talent puts on her. Part of her brain is always seeing the outcome of nearly every decision made in a three mile radius. I think being this hyper helps her calm her mind down a little. It's why she and Jasper work so well, he can calm her down like Ritalin does a child with ADD."

I chuckled softly. "She's very kind, though. I can't see her hurting someone unnecessarily."

"She doesn't. I have never met anyone as willing to bend over backwards to accommodate others as Alice. She's very generous and she's always trying to make everyone happy. Even Tanya and that's a difficult feat."

"Tanya?"

"Edward's partner."

I pursed my lips. Did Rosalie phrase it like that on purpose? She seemed to have understood my non-spoken question because she clarified: "Tanya and Edward aren't true mates. They're not bonded in the same way me and Emmett are for example. The others all have that mate connection too, but Tanya and Edward don't."

"How long have they been together?" I murmured.

"For almost twenty years. At first Edward turned down her advances, but I think at some point he gave up on his hope to find his true mate and that's when they got together."

"But what if either of them meets their true mate?"

Rosalie sighed heavily. "If Edward's the first to find his true mate he will have to fight to get rid of Tanya. She's tenacious when she wants something and she's not the kind to let go easily."

We sat in silence after that until Alice finally finished her hunt and came bounding back to where we were waiting. "So, are we ready to play Bella barbie?" she asked her eyes shimmering with mirth.

"Excuse me? Bella barbie?"

Alice laughed her bell like laugh and pulled me up from my perch on the rock. "Yes, I am going to give you a make over."

I glanced down at my sweater and jeans. "What's wrong with the way I look now?"

"Nothing as long as you're going for the slob of the year title. I have amazing clothes that will fit you with a few adjustment and I don't wear them any more."

I pulled away from her, my pride rearing it's ugly head. "Well what if I don't want to wear your cast offs? I feel fine just like this and if that means I'm not good enough for you, then tough luck. I'm not going to just sit there and let you change everything about me."

Rosalie's placed her hands on my shoulders and softly said: "Bella, calm down. The pixie might have phrased it a little stupidly, but she means well. She dresses pretty much every one in the house because she loves making others look their best. You look fine the way you look now, Alice just knows there is an even prettier girl underneath the baggy jeans and hoody and she's itching to bring her out."

As Rosalie spoke I managed to calm myself down and when I took in Alice's sad expression I felt incredibly guilty about the way I shot her down. "I'm sorry Alice," I murmured. "I'm just a bit sensitive about critique. It's my past..."

"No, I'm sorry!" she cried as she hugged me tight. "I sometimes just blurt things out and then I hurt people's feelings. I didn't mean to."

"It's fine. Water under the bridge and all that. I'll let you dress me up under the condition that I have a right to veto stuff, because I have some scars that I don't want showing."

Alice easily agreed and now that the air was cleared, we headed back to the house. Esme greeted us with a warm smile and a hug for each of us.

"How did the hunting go?"

"Great, Bella took to it like a fish to water," Rosalie told her, smiling like a proud parent.

"I'm glad to hear it. Do you girls have any plans for the rest of the day, or are you willing to go shopping with me for furniture for Bella's room?"

I glanced back at Alice who looked torn. I chuckled as she pouted at me and I decided to throw her a bone. "Why don't you pick out an outfit for me to wear and when I've changed we'll go shopping with Esme?"

Alice squealed and was off like a shot to get me some other clothes, leaving the three of us behind, laughing at her antics. It felt so good to laugh with them. I just hoped I could stay with them until I had gotten a chance to heal my emotional wounds.

"What do you think?" Esme asked as she showed me the empty room. "I have made some sketches while you girls were out hunting."

She handed me three leaves with three different designs for this particular room. I drew in a deep breath, because I started to feel overwhelmed and I feared I would break out into sobs if I didn't take a minute to control my emotions.

Alice had managed to pick out an outfit that didn't make me feel self-conscious and now Esme was showing me a room that took my breath away. It was on the third floor, which she explained I only shared with Edward and Tanya, who had apparently relocated to Alaska for the time being. That aside though, the room was amazing. The back wall was made entirely of glass and the space was more than I ever imagined needing, but with Esme's sketches in my hands I could imagine that this would become my safe haven.

"Thank you, Esme. For making me feel welcome, even if you don't know me. For giving me a space of my own."

Esme smiled and hugged me quickly. "Which one do you prefer?" she asked, tapping the papers.

I leafed through them, trying to determine my favorite. It was a toss up between two. The first was done in different shades of blue and the second in shades of purple. I handed my choices to Esme, who then took my hand and lead me back down stairs where the other two girls were waiting for us.

We all piled into Carlisle's Mercedes and headed for Seattle. I hadn't really thought about the effect it would have on me, to head back to the city where I had been subjected to so many horrors, but as it turned out that was a severe mistake.

The closer we got to Seattle, the more nervous I became. At first I fidgeted with the hem of my shirt, but when I had frayed the hem by my incessant rubbing, I moved on to tapping my fingers against my legs.

"Bella?" Esme asked, anxiously.

"Hm?"

"Are you alright, dear? You look tense."

"It's fine," I replied in a too high voice.

"We'd better change the schedule," Alice murmured from behind me. "There is a decent Home Depot a few miles back and we can order the furniture online."

"You don't have to go through all that extra trouble just for me," I muttered, feeling like I had ruined the outing.

"Nonsense. What fun is a day of shopping when you're feeling uncomfortable? We can still shop at the Home Depot and we'll just get started on the painting and wallpapering today instead of tomorrow. It's really no trouble, Bella."

I bit my lip because I didn't want to be rude to Esme, but I felt lousy about the whole situation. I had spend quite some time in Seattle after I was changed and I found it ridiculous that I was now so wound up about going back there, but I couldn't deny the relief that coursed through me when Esme made a U-turn and headed back in the direction of Forks.

As I stared out the window, I decided that maybe I needed to talk to Carlisle about what had happened and how to proceed. Alice patted my shoulder softly, so I figured that it was a good idea. Feeling slightly better about myself, I allowed the Cullen women to drag me into the giant DYI store to select paints, wallpapers and other practical stuff.

As it turned out, even shopping for mundane things like that was quite a production with Esme and Alice at the wheel. Rosalie supported me though it all by making snarky comments behind their backs and whispering her comments about the humans that were milling about to me. I learned that afternoon that Rose could be hilarious if she wanted to be and downright nasty if she felt she was provoked. I decided to stay on her good side, just to be safe.

"Bella, could I speak to you for a moment?" Carlisle asked as soon as we walked into the door.

I nodded and followed him into his study. He gestured for me to take a seat in one of the overstuffed chairs in the corner. He took the other one and gave me a warm smile before he leaned forward, folding his hands under his chin.

"Bella you know that Edward sent you away this afternoon because there was someone on their way who might have gotten the wrong idea about you had you stayed."

I nodded slowly.

"What he didn't have time to explain was, that the Quilliutes that live on the reservation near first beach are descendents of a long line of shape shifters."

"Shape shifters?"

"Yes, some of the boys down at the reservation have the ability to change form into that of a wolf in order to protect their tribe."

"Like werewolves?"

"Yes, somewhat like that. The shape shifters can change at any time of day and any day of the month, though. Like I said, they are the protectors of their people and in the case of the Quilliutes they protect their people from vampires. The presence of vampires is what triggers their latent genes and causes the teenaged boys to change forms. Their instinct is to kill our kind."

I blinked. Yes, I was a vampire and I knew that was part of the mythical world too, but somehow that seemed easier to grasp than the knowledge that there were teenaged boys out there that could change into a big wolf and rip me to shreds.

"I understand that it is difficult to understand, but there is more," Carlisle hedged after a minute or two.

I motioned for him to proceed and he did, explaining me about the treaty they had managed to forge because of their dietary preferences and how the tribe's leaders wanted to meet with me to ensure that I was like the other Cullens and could be trusted around town.

It felt like my head was literally spinning by the time Carlisle had finished his speech. With the wolves just on the other side of some invisible border and the Volturi quite possibly on the look out for me, I felt an overwhelming sense of fear. I was struggling against my instinct to shield myself from these invisible threats. Just as my control was slipping, Carlisle's relatively warm hand touched mine, just for a moment and for some reason it felt like a haze had fallen away from my thoughts and I could make them out clearly again.

"Are you alright?"

I nodded slowly. "Better."

"Had you been human you would have passed out. You were hyperventilating, which is quite uncommon in our kind, I have to tell you."

"Really? I didn't even realize it. My mind was getting a bit hazy, though and I knew I was just seconds away of losing control over my shield."

"What happens when you do lose control?"

"I cloak myself, which basically means it'll be like I'm not even here and wasn't here to begin with. It's something to do with my self preservation instincts, I think."

"That's fascinating. Would you mind if we tried some tests on you and your shield? I'm always keen to learn more about our kind and I think it would do you good to know more about it too."

"What kind of tests?"

"Nothing too complex. I'll have to figure some things out as we go along, but I think we could learn a lot just by practicing your control. I'll explain more when I had some time to come up with a form of training schedule. If that's alright with you of course."

"Sure. Carlisle?"

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"You can ask me anything, Bella."

I smiled a little. I had known he would say something like that, but it felt good to hear it said out loud. It was amazing how at ease I was with this vampire. With this entire group of vampires, to be honest. I realized it was mostly their aura's that were so comforting to me.

Carlisle cleared his throat to get my attention back. "You wanted to ask me something?"

"Uhm, yes. Do you think it's possible for me to get past everything that happened to me? I know I'll probably never forget it, since it's somehow ingrained in my new memories as much as the burning of the transformation."

Carlisle leaned back in his chair. "That is a question I have no clear answer to. In all my years as a vampire I have learned that vampires are in part frozen from the moment they get transformed."

"So, you're telling me I am stuck like this?"

"In a way, yes. You might always have a little trouble with certain aspects of your life that are connected to the trauma you've suffered."

"But?"

"Well, I think you can work through it to make it manageable for you, but I think you need to consider that you might suffer from anxiety for the rest of your existence."

I hung my hand and squeezed my eyes shut. That was not what I had wanted to hear. "So no more trips to Seattle for me then, huh?"

"Maybe not for now."

"I take it Alice texted you?"

"She did, but she only meant well."

"I know she does, I wasn't taking offense."

"Good. Would you mind if I talked to a few of our friends about your situation? I think one or two of them might be able to help you deal with everything."

"Sure."

"Why don't you help the girls decorate your room before we leave to meet with the tribe? It might help settle your nerves a little."

I chuckled at that. I doubted my nerves could be settled by something like painting, but it was better than nothing.

I was picking at some spots of paint that were still on my fingers while we waited for the wolves to arrive. Amazingly Carlisle had been proven right, being around Alice was a great way to get your mind off of things, even if you're just painting. I smiled down at my shoes, the ones with the paint splatters on it since this afternoon. As I inhaled to ask the others what was taking so long a strong, pungent smell assaulted my nose, making me cringe in disgust.

As I looked up I noted that we had been joined by a large group of men. Most of them looked to be between the ages of seventeen and twenty five, while there was a small group of elderly gentlemen in the middle. I assumed they were the tribe elders.

Glancing around the group I noticed one of the younger guys giving me a leery look. I shuddered a little and took a step back, hiding myself from his view behind Emmett. Emmett noticed my movement and grabbed my hand, tugging me up to his side. He nudged me and motioned for me to keep my chin up.

I did as he suggested, but I felt uncomfortable under the guy's constant stare. If I wasn't mistaken he even licked his lips at me. I tried to focus on the proceedings with the tribe elders, but the talk was boring and legal and a lot of nitpicking going on, so my mind kept wandering.

At first I wondered where Edward and Tanya were and if they'd be back in time for the new school year and then I started wondering if I was going to go to school with them and from there on my mind just took off and I lost all track of time.

It wasn't until Emmett laughed and shook me that I realized that something was wanted of me. I gave the people around me an apologetic smile and turned to Carlisle for guidance.

"Bella, would you please tell the elders how you survived before you came to us?"

I nodded and turned to the elderly men and started to tell my story from the point of my turning. From a few of the shocked gasps coming from behind me, I knew that the Cullens were hanging on my every word as much as the elders were.

When I was done with my tale, I felt entirely drained and I collapsed against Emmett, who kindly wrapped his arm around me to support me. The wolf that had been leering at me looked a little pissed, but I couldn't care less.

Emmett asked permission to lead me back to the house, but the tribe wasn't happy with it.

"Seth, why don't you escort those two to the Cullens' home? You can check if the other two are really not there," the one named Sam said.

A very young kid passed between two of the others and came sauntering up to us. He nodded his head in greeting and motioned for Emmett to lead the way. I faintly registered the protests coming from behind us, but my mind was closing off the outer world. I knew I was hyperventilating again, but I couldn't stop it by myself.

Emmett's worried voice registered in the back of my mind, but I found it impossible to break out of the torrent of horrid memories. I tried to fight against it, but fighting it was only making it worse.

Then suddenly there was a set of warm hands on my shoulders and they were forcing me to bend forward. A deep, soft voice murmured comforting words over and over and bit by bit the fog in my head cleared and I found myself capable of controlling my own motions again.

As I straightened up I was shocked to see the caring gaze of the young boy who had been sent to see us off safely and check up on the Cullens.

"Thank you, Seth," I whispered.

He smiled and it was almost like the sun had come out. "It's fine. My mother suffers from hyperventilation too. It usually happens when she's stressed out over my sister, so I just stay with her and try to bring her back down. My dad's usually working when it happens, since my sister's never around when he's there and now I am over sharing. Sorry."

"It's no problem. I sometimes ramble like that too."

Emmett, who had stood by silently up until that moment, stepped forward and held out his hand to Seth. "Well Seth, let me be one of the first of my family to introduce myself to you. I'm Emmett and since you helped my new baby sister like that, you've got a group of unusual friends from her on out."

Seth laughed and shook Emmett's hand without hesitation. "So I help Bella just once and I have actual friends? That's fast."

"What can I say, we Cullens work fast. I mean look at Bells. We've met her only a day ago and we're already decorating her bedroom."

"Since when do vampires sleep?"

"We don't, but we need our privacy if you know what I mean."

Seth cringed and I smacked Emmett's arm.

"Gross, Em. That's disgusting."

Emmett rolled his eyes. "Just wait until you've been living with us for a while. You won't be so easily disgusted then."

"Ugh, don't even tell me. I'll just run to the meadow if you guys are going at it."

"Well you do realize that you're going to be living in the same house with four couples, right? Four couples that don't sleep?"

Seth choked on his laughter.

"Hey! If you don't stop giggling I'll force you to spend time at the house when they're all doing _that_!"

"I don't giggle!"

"Yeah you do."

"SETH!"

Seth jumped in surprise and we all turned around only to come face to face with Mr. Leery eyes.

"If you'll quit flirting with the bloodsucker, maybe you can do your job. We're waiting for you. And you," he said, turning to me. "Seem to be feeling a lot better all of a sudden. What kind of games are you leeches playing?"

"Hey," Emmett interfered. "Why don't you settle down? Bella was panicking and Seth helped her snap out of it. We were just talking to take a bit of the tension off. I'm taking Bella home, if you feel the need to, by all means tag along."

Emmett easily lifted me onto his back and headed for the house. I sensed Seth and the other one following behind, but I trying not to pay attention to them. As we reached the house I immediately smelled Edward's and Tanya's scent. So they were back.

Edward must have heard the thoughts around us because he came charging out the door, immediately crouching into a defensive stance. When he took notice of Emmett and I and most likely Emmett's silent reassurances, he stood up and visibly relaxed.

"Bella, are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine. I just need to keep my mind off things."

Edward opened his mouth to say something else, but before he could Tanya came out and greeted the four of us with a lazy smile. She was dressed in only a sheet and she seemed to relish in the response from the leery wolf, who whistled at her.

I noticed that Edward looked at Seth with a look of sheer shock, so I chanced a glance back. He looked like he was frozen, his eyes fixated on Tanya's barely covered body.

"Teenage boys," I sighed.

Edward shook his head. "It's more than that," he murmured.

When I looked back to Tanya she had the same star struck look on her face as Seth.

"NO!" the other wolf growled and with a loud ripping sound he shifted into a giant wolf.

Emmett didn't hesitate for a second before tossing me into Tanya, sending the both of us tumbling back into the house. We scrambled to get untangled from each other, because outside the two wolves were now facing off.

"Tanya, what's happening?"

She shook her head, looking as bewildered as I was. "I don't know but he can't get hurt."

As a sharp howl pierced the air we both shot to our feet and were out the door within the blink of an eye. My dead heart dropped at the sight before me.

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><p><em>AN: For those of you who have been following this story, I am truly sorry it took this long to update. I've been swamped with work and suffered a heavy flu, so writing wasn't really on my mind. I'm going to try to get another update out by the weekend._

_Let me know your thoughts on the chapter. Liked it, hated it?_


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